Defence has no time for treachery (6)
I believe the answer is:
reason
'defence' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for reason that I've seen before include "Motivation or cause" , "Sanity, the ability to think" , "Cause or motive" , "Employ logic" , "Justification or motive" .)